Polestar Credits Toyota, Tesla For Rebirth Of EVs In 21st Century: 'Next Phase Of The Hero's Journey'

Swedish electric car brand Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC PSNY attributed the resurgence of electric vehicles in the 21st century to the pioneering efforts of Toyota Motor Corp‘s TM Prius and Tesla Inc TSLA. 

What Happened: Polestar, in a Fourth Of July blog post, said that the first practical EV was developed by American chemist William Morrison in the late 1800s, capable of reaching a top speed of 23 km/h. 

EVs gained popularity and accounted for a significant portion of vehicles on the road until the introduction of Ford’s Model T and declining gas prices, causing the EV market to decline by 1935. 

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Throwing in a “Lord Of The Rings” reference, Polestar said that the Toyota Prius burst onto the automotive scene like when Samwise Gamgee hoists Frodo onto his shoulders. “As the world's first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, it took the world by storm.”

Around the same time, “a small U.S. startup was working under wraps, with the dream of creating a luxury EV sports car that would change the way we view EVs forever.” 

And thereby, with the success of Tesla, the electric vehicle returned, Polestar said. “It wasn't until the 21^st century that EVs would find their rebirth: the next phase of the Hero's Journey.”

Why It Matters: The Prius was launched in December 1997. “When we launched Prius, no one even knew what a hybrid was,” said Takeshi Uchiyamada, also known as the father of the Prius. Ten years later, worldwide sales of Toyota hybrids surpassed 10 million units.

Tesla, meanwhile, introduced the Roadster in 2008. Tesla CEO Elon Musk termed the development of the first all-electric production vehicle to use lithium-ion batteries an ‘insane nightmare.’

“First of all, we had no idea how to build a car,” Musk said. “And then no one really knew how to build a commercial lithium-ion battery car. No one had ever done it.”

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